As you look over our church communication calendar, you may be thinking that you have enough trouble remembering and celebrating the major holidays—so why include events such as:
September 13: International Chocolate Day
September 28: National Good Neighbor Day
August 4: International Friendship Day
Not only are these events an excuse for fun and celebration, but I've included these to help us all be obedient to our Lord. We know the Old Testament commands God's people to make their faith part of their life. . . . .
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deut. 6:4-9 NLT).
It's a very clear command and we know we should follow it, but the question is, how can we carry it out in a natural way? How do we communicate Biblical truth to those around us in our daily lives.
For example, perhaps you've selected the command: "Love your neighbor as yourself," which Jesus says is the second great commandment. How do you make teaching that command part of your life? How do you start a discussion about it, make it a topic for learning or provide a way for either your family or congregation to put it into practice?
Some "silly" celebrations might help
There are many sites on the web that list non-traditional and what are termed "silly" celebrations (why or how the term "silly" was chosen, I have no idea, as many of these are quite serious, but that's what they are often labeled). These celebrations can be days, weeks, or months and cover topics such as: National Smile Week, Hug Holiday Day, and Make a Difference Day.
To help you make the most of these, I'll select some, put them on our calendar, and then give links to articles both on this site and outside this site that will give you ideas on how to make the most of these events to teach and train both children and churches in Christian actions.
For example: September 28: National Good Neighbor Day–a challenge to churches to be a good neighbor. Click on the link to go to an article that will give you suggestions for how your church can use this day as both a spiritual challenge and an outreach to your neighbors.
For September 13, International Chocolate Day, you can use it as a time to share love and reach out to others, click on the link for more ideas.
Additional dates will be continuously added to our calendar along with ministry ideas on how to make the most of them as opportunities to celebrate and to communicate spiritual truth. C.S. Lewis said that, "Joy is the serious business of heaven." By making the most of celebrations now, it reminds us of our eternally joyful God, even in the midst of our current heavy work loads and challenging lives.
Please share your thoughts, comments, questions!